


Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

by TheGreatCatsby



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, spoilers for tokyo ghoul :re, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 23:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3430100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatCatsby/pseuds/TheGreatCatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Hide wants is to have his best friend back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

It started with a simple statement: “I want my friend back.” 

Everything that followed wasn't nearly as simple. 

*

“You're getting a new member of the team,” Arima told Haise, pulling him aside after a meeting. “I want you to take him under your wing, as you have the others, and keep him under control. He's been through the proper training, but he hasn't been tested in the field.” 

The next day Haise was in a conference room with his team when the door opened and in walked a blond-haired young man with a genuine smile. Smiles weren't a thing that happened often at the CCG, and yet here he was, acting like being an investigator was the best thing in the world. He raised a hand and waved. 

“I'm Hide,” he said. 

When Haise got his file later, he'd learn that Hide's name was really Hideyoshi Nagachika. But for the moment, Hide was good enough. 

Hide plopped down a few seats away from Haise and looked him up and down. “You must be Sasaki.” Something about his forceful (but not forced) friendliness made something stick in Haise's chest, but he couldn't say what it was. 

Haise only nodded. 

And Hide inclined his head and said, “It's an honor.” 

*

“I don't think he's actually a half ghoul,” Shirazu said over dinner. 

“Just because we're not happy all the time?” Mutsuki asked. 

Shirazu shrugged. “I'm not saying that. I'm just saying. Hide seems different.” 

“Haise is different,” Mutsuki said. He wasn't just talking about Haise's differences to the rest of them, like how he out of all of them was most likely to lose control, and how he didn't remember his past. He was talking about how Hide had caused Haise to retreat a bit more into himself. 

*

“Akira says we can't take on the Serpent case,” Haise said. 

“No,” Urie corrected, “she says you can't take on the Serpent case because it makes you go batshit.” 

Hide raised an eyebrow. “The Serpent case?” 

“Urie,” Haise warned. “Do not speak to me like that again.” His voice carried a threat, subtle but there. 

“Sorry,” Urie muttered, not sounding like it. 

“Um, guys,” Hide said. “What's this about a snake?” 

“The Serpent case,” Mutsuki said, “is a ghoul who's called Serpent, who's been hunting down other ghouls and killing them. We think for information. He halted our capture of another ghoul, Torso, who has been killing women with surgical scars almost exclusively.” 

“Ouch,” Hide said. “But not ghouls? Do you know who it is?” 

“He,” Haise said. 

“Sasaki saw his face,” Mutsuki said. “It was apparently familiar to him.” 

Hide looked to Haise, but Haise seemed lost in thought. 

“Okay,” Hide said. “Now that's interesting.” 

“It's not our case,” Haise said, sounding far away. 

Hide tapped his fingers on the table. He was already thinking of a way to get Serpent's file. 

*

Cafe :Re was a place frequented by all sorts. The investigators had been there a few times. When Hide asked the best place for coffee, Haise suggested :Re. So he went. And was shocked. 

He saw Touka before she saw him, but when she did, she nearly dropped the three cups of coffee she was bringing to another table. Only years of experience kept her from doing so, but after she'd placed the cups on her customers' table she took the seat across from Hide and glared at him. 

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Hide said. 

“Shut up,” Touka hissed, leaning closer. “What are you doing here?” 

“Getting coffee?” Hide smiled at her. She glared at him. “Okay, I know this is weird. You haven't seen me in three years and all of a sudden I turn up at your new place.” 

“A lot of people who I thought disappeared have been turning up,” Touka said. “What do you want?” 

“Do you know who Serpent is?” 

Touka's eyes widened before she could cover up her reaction. “Why?” 

“Because I'm looking for him,” Hide said. “Because he's apparently the first thing that sparked a memory in Kaneki—Haise, I guess now. Of his past.” 

“What does that have to do with you?” Touka asked. 

“I'm Kaneki's best friend,” Hide said. 

“But are you Haise's best friend?” 

Hide sighed. “Look. You know who it is.” 

“How do I know you're trustworthy?” 

“I'm on Kaneki's side.” 

“But are you on ours?” Touka narrowed her eyes. “Where have you been? What have you been doing? Kaneki is working with the doves now. Are you the same? If Kaneki wanted you to turn us in, would you?” 

Hide ran a hand through his hair. “I wouldn't,” he said. “Honest. I just want to know. Because Kaneki saw my face and it didn't do a thing.” And that was the problem. He'd been waiting for some sort of recognition, but all he got was Haise's thoughtful stare. 

And no, Haise wasn't supposed to recognize him. That's what Arima had told Hide when they'd struck a deal. Haise was safer this way, Arima had said, and Hide had believed him. But it was harder when your best friend was standing right in front of you, staring at you, not knowing that you even existed for them before. 

Touka's expression softened. “He doesn't know me, either.” 

Hide leaned forward. “So who does he know?” 

Touka sighed and stood up. She walked over to the door leading to the back, and Hide followed her. She opened it and gestured for him to go inside. “Third door on the left,” she said. 

Hide walked into the hallway and Touka closed the door behind him. And then he started walking towards the door she'd pointed out. 

Third door on the left. He reached for the doorknob, then thought to knock because after all, he was seeing an actual person. So he knocked. 

“Come in,” said the voice on the other side. It sounded familiar but after three years, Hide had trouble placing it. And then he opened the door. 

Sitting in front of a desk on the opposite side of the room was Nishiki. 

“Oh,” Hide said. 

“You can at least close the door,” Nishiki muttered, standing up and striding over to Hide, shutting the door, and then staying rather uncomfortably close. Confrontational. 

Hide noticed that he was too pale. And there was a scar over his left eye that hadn't been there before. He seemed tired. But otherwise, he looked much the same as he had three years ago. 

“Kaneki recognized you,” he said. “Why?” 

“Nagachika,” Nishiki smirked. “Is this jealousy?” 

Hide's mind was going through several possibilities. Why. Why did Kaneki blank out his best friend but remember a co-worker at best?

“You're hunting down other ghouls,” Hide said. 

“Mmm, that is true,” Nishiki said. “Torso, in particular. But I'm sure you've heard of him. What have you been doing lately? It's been years since we've seen each other.” It sounded as close to polite as Nishiki ever got. 

“I--” Hide was cut off as Nishiki shoved him into the door, holding him there. 

“I don't just hunt down ghouls, Nagachika,” Nishiki hissed. “I gain information. And I've heard that you've joined the CCG. So why should I let you go?” 

“I won't turn you in?” Hide tried. 

“You have no idea what the past three years have been like for me,” Nishiki growled, “for any of us. Why should I trust you?” 

“I'm like him,” Hide said. He concentrated, allowed one of his eyes to turn black with a red center. It made him strong enough to throw Nishiki off him, but he didn't. Not yet. 

Nishiki didn't ease his grip. “Those experimental things want to kill us anyway,” he said. “Why shouldn't I kill you? You know about us, now. You know :Re is harboring ghouls. You know my identity.” 

“Would you believe I'm doing it for a friend?” Hide asked. 

Nishiki's expression twitched, which Hide counted as a point in his favor. 

“I wanted Kaneki to be happy, but he wouldn't let me in,” Hide explained. “Arima found me, knew that I'd been connected to him. He offered me a deal and I took it. I've been training, I've undergone surgery, and I thought that once I got to Kaneki's side I could bring him back, help him accept himself. But he's happy this way. He doesn't have the burdens he had before, most of the time, even if sometimes he slips. And if it means he's happier not knowing who I am, then I'll be happy to make sure he doesn't slip, that he stays Haise Sasaki as long as he wants to.” 

Nishiki let go of him and took a step back, running his fingers through his hair. “He's being used,” he said. 

“If there was an alternative,” Hide shook his head. “They'd put him down like some sort of rabid animal if he wasn't working for them.” 

“Is this about him being happier this way,” Nishiki said, “or about you not wanting him to possibly die if he does remember who he is?” 

Hide pinched his forehead. “The first one. Look, I can make you an offer. I can give :Re information.” 

“I can give it to them,” Nishiki said. “If you keep coming here it will draw the doves' attention. I don't work here, or stay here, so it will be less conspicuous if you come to me.” 

“What are you doing here now?”

Nishiki grimaced. “Your best friend impaled me through the stomach and I needed a secure place to recover.” 

Hide nodded. “Right. Well, I can give you information about the doves that you can pass on to :Re. Keep you all out of trouble. Even if he doesn't remember you, I know Kaneki would want you to be safe. And if he could, he'd give you what you needed to stay off the CCG's radar in a heartbeat.” 

Nishiki nodded. “I thought you were an idiot when we first met, Nagachika. You're not. That said,” for a moment, his eyes changed, going black, “if you betray us, I will find you and kill you in the most painful way possible.” 

“I'll keep that in mind,” Hide said, and he ducked out the door. 

On the way out, Touka gave him a look that clearly meant she wanted to know what had happened. Hide gave her a thumbs up, and she glared at him, but he walked through the door before she could ask him to give her a better answer. 

*

“Did you have a family, Hide?” Haise asked. They both sat across from each other, eating dinner. The other squad members had elected to go out, but Hide wanted to keep Haise company. 

“Yeah,” Hide said, “but this is kinda like my family now. You know?” 

Haise nodded. “I may be tough on you all sometimes, but I do consider you my family. I would hate for anything to happen to you.” 

Hide looked down at his plate. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this was pretty much me going, what if Hide suddenly reappeared as part of Haise's squad, as a half ghoul? What if that's what he's spent the past few years doing, purely so that he could keep an eye on Kaneki and be with him? What if he disappeared because he was getting surgery, and then training? 
> 
> I don't like to think that he's been eaten.


End file.
